Thyroid hormones have effects on many bodily systems. They play an important role in fat, protein, and carbohydrate metabolism, maintain cognitive processes, and stabilize emotions. But what happens when their functioning is disrupted?
Autoimmune thyroiditis is a chronic condition where a person’s immune system damages the thyroid gland’s structure. For this reason, the gland cannot fully maintain the health of the body. One of its consequences is hypothyroidism, when the thyroid does not produce enough hormones. This results in affected metabolic processes, body mass increase, and cardiovascular disorders.
Another name for autoimmune thyroiditis is Hashimoto’s disease. Hashimoto is the surname of the scientist who first described this disorder and explained the factors promoting its development.
Scientists don’t know yet what makes the immune system attack healthy thyroid cells1, and Hashimoto’s, like other autoimmune conditions, cannot be cured. Nevertheless, there are factors that can facilitate the development of Hashimoto’s disease, including genetics, biological sex, having other autoimmune diseases, pregnancy, and a history of excessive exposure to radiation or iodine.
Hashimoto’s disease symptoms
It can be difficult to discover autoimmune thyroiditis, especially at an early stage. This condition progresses slowly, and its signs and symptoms can remain undetected for several years. In addition, there are no symptoms specific to Hashimoto’s disease, so its manifestations can be confused with other conditions.
Decreased production of thyroid hormones may be accompanied by the following:
- Increased fatigue
- Sleepiness
- Dryness of skin
- Muscle weakness
- Joint pain
- Frequent or continuous depressive mood, mood swings
- Issues with memory and concentration
- Face and neck swelling
- Fragile nails, loss of hair and eyebrows
- Cold intolerance
- Constipation
- Hoarseness, especially in the morning
- Body mass increase
Of course, it’s easy to link increased fatigue with a lack of rest, a depressive mood with mental health issues, or body mass increase with diet imbalances.
So, how can a person understand it’s time to seek help? First of all, make it a habit to go for regular checkups, even if you feel fine. Changes in the contours, size, or structure of the thyroid are not accompanied by any uncomfortable signs and it is almost impossible to detect an impairment in the functioning of the thyroid and the early development of autoimmune thyroiditis without a medical examination.
Secondly, any of the symptoms listed above, and especially their combinations, indicate the need for a thyroid examination.
And lastly, early detection of autoimmune thyroiditis results in using fewer synthetic drugs, leads to a more favorable prognosis, and helps to halt the disease’s progression.
How is Hashimoto’s diagnosed and what tests can you expect?
A physician will examine you, ask questions about your complaints and any symptoms, and refer you to one or several blood tests.
Hashimoto’s disease diagnosis
- A thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) test will show how much TSH your hypophysis produces. If its level is increased, it might be a sign of Hashimoto’s disease.
- Test for anti-TG and anti-TPO (thyroid peroxidase) antibodies, which are synthetized when the immune system attacks the thyroid.
- Tests for T4 and T3 hormones. Low levels of these hormones can provide confirmation of Hashimoto’s disease. At the same time, some patients with Hashimoto’s have normal levels of these hormones. As such, it is extremely important to get a more complete picture and undergo comprehensive examinations.
- Thyroid echography, which may help to define the gland size, its structural changes and/or presence of nodules.
- In case nodules are present, thin-needle aspiration of thyroid may be performed.
Hashimoto’s disease treatment
As mentioned earlier, researchers have not yet discovered a course of treatment that can cure this disease completely. The issue is that the exact cause of autoimmune thyroiditis is still unknown and thus cannot be eradicated. However, choosing the right physician will help you find a treatment strategy that aims to provide symptomatic relief and prevent metabolic issues.
Some patients enter long-term remission, which means they become completely free of the disease’s symptoms, and their test results return to normal ranges.
Conventional approach
Conventional treatment usually involves daily administration of levothyroxine, a synthetic thyroid hormone (T4), to compensate for low hormone levels.
You can start feeling better as early as the first week, but this does not mean you can stop treatment. If you stop, the symptoms will return. It should be mentioned that synthetic hormones, such as levothyroxine, have no effects on the disease’s cause. They just compensate for the hormonal deficit in the body. That’s why the replacement therapy is recommended to be taken for life.
Integrative approach
This medical school of thought is based on the idea that the human body is one single entity, and instead of treating separate organs or symptoms, we should remove the triggers that induce or worsen a disease. The integrative approach takes many factors into account, including physiological, emotional, social, and environmental.
These can all affect a person’s health, including the start and development of autoimmune diseases such as autoimmune thyroiditis.
The main steps of integrative therapy in this case include:
- Decreasing inflammation by means of herbal remedies and nutritional supplements. This stage does not exclude pharmacological treatment.
- Normalizing the intestinal microbiome. A patient can be offered various treatment strategies, such as adjusting nutrition habits, antimicrobial therapy, probiotic therapy to restore microflora, or supportive herbal therapy.
- Lifestyle modifications, including changes in nutrition3,4, regular moderate physical activity5, stress management6,7, and regulation of sleeping patterns8. In the last few decades, there has been emerging evidence that lifestyle changes can have positive effects on autoimmune conditions.
- Decrease in the consumption of toxic substances (such as nicotine, alcohol, and more) or complete avoidance avoidance (such as drugs). Negative environmental factors can result in constant stress for the immune system, so it is very important to exclude or minimize toxic exposure.
Even though scientists have not discovered a treatment that can completely cure autoimmune thyroiditis, there are many evidence-based methods and practices that can partially or completely remove its symptoms, increase quality of life, and lead the patient into remission. Awareness, a positive attitude, and motivation also play a key role.